Archibald Gracie IV

Archibald Gracie IV (January 15, 1858 – December 4, 1912) was an American writer, soldier, amateur historian, real estate investor, and survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. Gracie survived the sinking by climbing aboard an overturned collapsible lifeboat and wrote a popular book about the disaster. He never recovered from his ordeal and died less than eight months after the sinking, becoming the first adult survivor to die. Early life Archibald Gracie was born in Mobile, Alabama, a member of the wealthy Scottish-American Gracie family of New York City. He was a namesake and direct descendant of Archibald Gracie, who had built Gracie Mansion, the current official residence of the mayor of New York City, in 1799. His father, Archibald Gracie III, had been an officer with the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War; in 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1863, the elder Gracie served at the Battle of Chickamauga; he was killed in action during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. In that same year, Archibald IV attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He later attended the United States Military Academy (though he did not graduate) and eventually became a colonel of the 7th New York Militia. Gracie was an amateur historian and had a particular interest in the Battle of Chickamauga, in which his father had served. He spent a number of years researching the battle and eventually wrote a book titled The Truth about Chickamauga, which was published in 1911. In early 1912, Gracie traveled to Europe on the alone, without his wife or their daughter. He made his return trip to the United States aboard as a first class passenger. Titanic Gracie boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912, and was assigned first-class cabin C51. He spent much of the voyage chaperoning various unaccompanied women. They included the writer Helen Churchill Candee, 52, and three sisters, née Lamson, who were also in their fifties: Charlotte Appleton, Malvina Cornell, and Caroline Brown. All four women survived the sinking, but Edith Corse Evans, 36, who accompanied the sisters (and Gracie) did not.